Kimchi

[ktmoomau]

What are your favorite kimchis (brand/type) and where do you buy them?  I love kimchi when I get it out at a restaurant, but I never seem to buy ones that I really like, I feel like sometimes they have too much tang and not enough heat maybe.  I don't know.  I just feel like I could do better.  What are your favorites?

[Escoffier]

Try Jinga brand.  The radish is good, my personal favorite is the cucumber kimchi and of course Napa cabbage.  Not sure what particular "flavor" you're looking for (or missing) but kimchi as a rule is not overly spicy but a good blend of tastes with some heat.  You should be able to find Jinga in almost any Korean market but I know for sure it's at Super H-Mart in Fairfax and Lotte on Braddock Rd (outside the beltway)  and H-Mart on Heritage Drive in Annandale.  Kimchi is a lot like drinking coffee. After 4 or 5 days, the one you bought is the one you prefer. 😀 

[DonRocks]

50 minutes ago, Escoffier said:

Try Jinga brand.  The radish is good, my personal favorite is the cucumber kimchi and of course Napa cabbage.  Not sure what particular "flavor" you're looking for (or missing) but kimchi as a rule is not overly spicy but a good blend of tastes with some heat.  You should be able to find Jinga in almost any Korean market but I know for sure it's at Super H-Mart in Fairfax and Lotte on Braddock Rd (outside the beltway)  and H-Mart on Heritage Drive in Annandale.  Kimchi is a lot like drinking coffee. After 4 or 5 days, the one you bought is the one you prefer. 😀 

Escoffier, what do you think about the rows(-upon-rows) of house-made varieties you see in specialty marts? Is this a crap shoot?

Now that I'm thinking about it, it seems that radish tends to be tangier than cabbage and cucumber.

Also, it seems that anything marked "Country Style" tends to have a lot of rusticity (i.e., sauce).

Jinga's Kimchi can (currently) be found on this page - it isn't a very professional website, so I don't hold out much hope for this being an evergreen post. If you click on "Kimchi," and hover your cursor over the type that interests you, you'll have a more-detailed description of it pop up.

 <--- This is just a screen-shot.

[Tweaked]

My brother's mother-in-law sends me shipments from time-to-time and it's amazing. 

The Korean run vegetable stall inside Eastern Market usually has homemade kimchi, which is probably the best that I have bought in DC proper.

I find the H-Mart kimchi sold in the prepared food case to be lacking. 

[astrid]

If you prefer less tangy, I recommend making it from scratch and refrigerate the batch immediately without room temp fermentation period.  You can adjust heat level by adding cayenne powder.  I follow Maangchi's recipe and it takes maybe 60 minutes of active prep time.  

[ktmoomau]

2 hours ago, Tweaked said:

I find the H-Mart kimchi sold in the prepared food case to be lacking. 

This was one of my past purchases I wasn't crazy about.  I think I also have gotten a very saucy country-style one from somewhere that I also wasn't crazy about.  Thanks for the suggestions!

[TheMatt]

Well, if you are in Annandale, you can buy kimchi at Lighthouse Tofu. I'm a fan of theirs and have bought some from them before.

[Escoffier]

21 hours ago, DonRocks said:

Escoffier, what do you think about the rows(-upon-rows) of house-made varieties you see in specialty marts? Is this a crap shoot?

Now that I'm thinking about it, it seems that radish tends to be tangier than cabbage and cucumber.

Also, it seems that anything marked "Country Style" tends to have a lot of rusticity (i.e., sauce).

Jinga's Kimchi can (currently) be found on this page - it isn't a very professional website, so I don't hold out much hope for this being an evergreen post. If you click on "Kimchi," and hover your cursor over the type that interests you, you'll have a more-detailed description of it pop up.

 <--- This is just a screen-shot.

It's definitely a crap shoot.  Surprisingly, some of the best kimchi we've bought and eaten was made by a Latina lady at Super-H in Fairfax.  It might be that she had a 할머니 (Korean grandmother) to show her how it was done initially.  We found a kimchi we really liked at Lotte on Braddock Rd. Unfortunately, my Korean comprehension is limited to verbal so I couldn't (can't) read the label to tell you who made it, but it's exceptional. Nice crunchy pieces of Napa cabbage, excellent sauce preparation.  Sometimes it pays to take a chance and pay a few bucks  if you end up with something you really like.

[deangold]

My Mak Kimchee has aged into a well balanced, incredibly spicy delight. I used a lot of salted shrimp and Thai fish sauce so it began as pretty fishy. Now it has had 5 days or so in the fridge and it i rocking. We ate some with grilled skirt steak the other night and today I cooked up a batch of Kimchi Jiggae {sort of} using leftover prok ribs, tofu, beech mushrooms, & leeks, hon dashi, tamari, sesame oil and mirin {the "sort of" part}

The soup is in the fridge and freezer awaiting other days.

[deangold]

We have the Jigae yesterday for dinner and it rocked. Fiery hot. I was shocked that Kay could even eat it as it was that spicy. My next kimchi project will be quartered nappa kimchi. I have a Zyliss julienne y-peeler that shreds almost as good as a mandoline and is far easier to use {not to mention my old mandoline dies jsut as we closed the restaurant and the Zyliss was $7.98 and not $100 plus.

[deangold]

If you do use brined shrimp when making your kimchi, it takes a good week or 10 days for the flavor to moderate and blend into the kimchi. I do recommend it highly as it is a huge umami source, and once incorporated, it add a broad, complex, bottom note.

[PollyG]

14 hours ago, deangold said:

We have the Jigae yesterday for dinner and it rocked. Fiery hot. I was shocked that Kay could even eat it as it was that spicy. My next kimchi project will be quartered nappa kimchi. I have a Zyliss julienne y-peeler that shreds almost as good as a mandoline and is far easier to use {not to mention my old mandoline dies jsut as we closed the restaurant and the Zyliss was $7.98 and not $100 plus.

Can you post a pic of the Zyliss?  I have a rotating Benriner shredder for carrots/daikon that I picked up from a Korean grocery quite some time ago.  I need to start making my own kimchi again because I'm allergic to shrimp and most commercial preparations have either shrimp or xylitol, which would be toxic to my dogs should they accidentally get any kimchi.  

[deangold]

46 minutes ago, PollyG said:

Can you post a pic of the Zyliss? i.  

https://www.amazon.com/Zyliss-E950019U-ZYLISS-Julienne-Peeler/dp/B078YNM87K/ref=sr_1_4?crid=48FKBOYT5IM6&keywords=zyliss+julienne+peeler&qid=1576693513&sprefix=zyliss+julie%2Caps%2C133&sr=8-4

[ktmoomau]

I have been working my way through some of the kimchis from Number 1 and Sons.  I got the radish kimchi- I love radishes, and I like the crispy, peppery taste with the spice.  And then I just got the kicky kimchi- which is more what I was really looking for in terms of a kimchi.  They are delivering all sorts of things, so I also got Kraut and some other items.